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Sultan Abdul Majid I (Turkish: Abdülmecid I) is considered one of the most important sultans of the late Ottoman Empire, remembered for his attempts to modernize and reform the structures of the state.
His reign was marked by the rise of nationalist movements, efforts to forge alliances with Western European powers, and the launch of major organizational and legal reforms across the empire.
The lineage and family of Sultan Abdul Majid I
Sultan Abdul Majid I belonged to the Ottoman dynasty. His paternal lineage back to Ertugrul Gazi is:
Sultan Abdul Majid I son of Mahmoud II son of Abd al-Hamid I son of Ahmed III son of Muhammad IV son of Ibrahim I son of Ahmed I son of Muhammad III son of Murad III son of Salim II son of Suleiman the Magnificent son of Selim I bin Bayazid II son of Muhammad Al-Fatih son of Murad II son of Muhammad I son of Bayazid I son of Murad I son of Orhan Gazi son of Osman son of Erturgul Gazi
The dynasty he belonged to had been founded centuries earlier by Osman I, the first Ottoman sultan.
Sultan Abdul Majid I had numerous consorts, with historians identifying at least 26 wives and concubines. Some of his most notable wives and consorts included Servetseza Kadın (his first consort), Tirimüjgan Kadın (mother of Sultan Abdul Hamid II), Şevkefza Kadın (mother of Sultan Murad V), and Gülcemal Kadın (mother of Sultan Mehmed V). Among the women known to have been part of his harem were:
- Servetseza Kadın
- Tirimüjgan Kadın
- Düzdidil Kadın
- Şevkefza Kadın
- Şayeste Hanım
- Zeynifelek Hanım
- Gülcemal Kadın
- Verdicenan Kadın
- Perestu Kadın
- Nükhetsezâ Hanım
- Mahitab Kadın
- Nesrin Hanım
- Nergizev Hanım
- Bezmiara Kadın
- Nalandil Hanım
- Ceylanyar Hanım
The early life of Sultan Abdul Majid
Sultan Abdul Majid I was born on April 23, 1823, to Sultan Mahmud II and Bezmiâlem Sultan in Istanbul.
He received a distinguished European-style education. Sultan Abdul Majid I spoke French fluently, a notable skill among Ottoman sultans and a reflection of his keen interest in Western culture.
The Sultan was interested in literature and classical music and was educated in the palace like most princes of that time.
As a prince, Abdul Majid was known for his desire to introduce reforms and changes to the Ottoman Empire, following in the footsteps of his father Mahmud II. The young prince looked to modernize the empire and adapt it to the rapidly changing world of the 19th century.
The era of the rule of Sultan Abdul Majid
The Egyptian Crisis
Sultan Abdul Majid rose to the throne on July 1, 1839, when he was only 16 years old.
The Ottoman Empire was in a critical state when Abdul Majid assumed power. The Egyptian–Ottoman conflict was at its peak, and the empire had recently suffered major military setbacks.
At the beginning of his reign, the empire had lost an important land battle against the army of the powerful Egyptian governor Muhammad Ali Pasha, and the Ottoman fleet had defected and been delivered by Admiral Ahmed Fawzi Pasha to Alexandria.
One of the Sultan’s first actions was to appoint Khosrow Pasha, the former governor of Egypt, as Grand Vizier. The state then worked with its European allies to reach a diplomatic settlement to the Egyptian crisis.
In 1841, the Egyptian crisis was resolved through international agreements, and Sultan Abdul Majid I issued a decree confirming Muhammad Ali’s hereditary rule over Egypt in return for his formal submission to the Ottoman Sultan. For a broader overview of the period, see Ottoman Egypt.
Ireland’s Great Famine
News of the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849), which caused the starvation and death of more than a quarter of Ireland’s population, reached Sultan Abdul Majid I in Istanbul.
The Sultan initially decided to send £10,000 sterling to aid the poor of Ireland. However, British diplomats informed him that Queen Victoria, the Queen of the United Kingdom at that time, had donated £2,000 and advised that it would be inappropriate for the Ottoman donation to exceed hers.
In response, Sultan Abdul Majid officially sent £1,000 in cash, along with several ships, often said to be three to five, loaded with food supplies for the Irish people.
According to local tradition, British authorities sought to restrict the Ottoman aid, and the Ottoman ships made their way to the port of Drogheda to deliver food directly to the people.
The Irish football team Drogheda United adopted the crescent-and-star emblem, associated with the Ottoman Empire, for its crest as a tribute to this humanitarian assistance. As of 2024, the club still uses this emblem on its official badge.
Internal reforms
Sultan Abdul Majid I’s greatest achievement was the initiation and implementation of the Tanzimat (“reorganization”) reforms that had been prepared in the final years of his father Mahmud II. These reforms were formally launched with the Edict of Gülhane (Gülhane Hatt-ı Şerifi) in 1839 and were significantly expanded with the Imperial Reform Edict (Islâhat Hatt-ı Hümâyûnu) in 1856.
The most prominent reforms introduced by the state in the era of Sultan Abdul Majid included:
- The first Ottoman paper currency was issued.
- The army was reorganized, including the introduction of compulsory conscription with a five-year term of service.
- The Ottoman National Anthem and the Ottoman National Flag were officially adopted.
- The financial system was reorganized according to the French model.
- Civil and criminal law were reorganized on the basis of European legal principles, especially the French system.
- The court system was restructured, creating civil and criminal courts staffed by both European and Ottoman judges.
- The Public Knowledge Council (Meclis-i Maarif-i Umumiye) was established as a precursor to the first Ottoman Parliament.
- The General Education Council was founded to oversee educational policy.
- The Ministry of Education was established.
- Plans were drawn up to abolish slave markets and gradually ban slavery.
- Permission was granted for the construction of a Protestant chapel, reflecting a new approach to religious minorities.
- Modern universities and institutes were founded.
- Establishment of an Ottoman school in Paris to educate selected students.
- Certain taxes that imposed higher tariffs on non-Muslims were abolished.
- Non-Muslims were allowed to serve as soldiers in the Ottoman army.
- New land laws were issued affirming private property rights.
These reforms aimed to centralize and modernize the administration, strengthen the army and finances, and create a more equal legal framework for all subjects of the empire. For an example of how these reforms were applied in the provinces, see the history of Ottoman Jerusalem.
Crimean War
The Ottoman Empire entered the Crimean War (1853–1856) against Russia due to Russian ambitions in Ottoman territories and its interference in the internal affairs of the state.
The empire concluded a joint defense agreement with Britain and France, which intervened in the war on the side of the Ottomans.
The main battles were concentrated in the Caucasus and the Black Sea region. The Ottoman, British, and French allies eventually managed to occupy Sevastopol, while the Russians captured the fortress city of Kars in eastern Anatolia.
In 1856, the Ottoman Empire and Russia concluded the Treaty of Paris, which largely restored the pre-war borders and confirmed the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire under the guarantee of the European powers.
The Crimean War severely strained the treasury of the Ottoman Empire. To finance the conflict, the Ottomans took their first-ever foreign loan in 1854, amounting to approximately £3.3 million sterling (about 83 million French francs).
Dolmabahce Palace construction
Dolmabahce Palace is one of the most important architectural monuments built in the era of Sultan Abdul Majid. It was the first major European-style palace on the Bosphorus in Istanbul and symbolized the empire’s desire to present a modern image to Europe.
Sultan Abdul Majid built the palace between 1843 and 1856, at a cost of five million Ottoman gold liras, a sum widely cited as being equivalent to 35 tons of gold. Fourteen tons of gold were reportedly used to decorate the inner ceilings of the palace.
The enormous cost of the palace placed a heavy burden on the state treasury at a time when the empire was already straining to finance the Crimean War.
The death of Sultan Abdul Majid
Sultan Abdul Majid died of tuberculosis (like his father) at the age of 38 on June 25, 1861, in Istanbul. He was buried in the Tomb of Sultan Abdul Majid, near the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul, and was succeeded by his younger half-brother Sultan Abdul Aziz, son of Pertevniyal Sultan.
